It's Beats & Burn Vol. 11!
This November we welcome two new Portland artists to the Beats & Burn fold. Muralist, Gage Hamilton, and DJ Dijon Mustard. These two devotees of the eclectic and unexpected are well suited to mix it up at the gateway of this holiday season -- a time that always brings with it its own element of the eclectic and unexpected.
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Playlist by Dijon Mustard / XRAY.fm / The Path is the Destination
Dijon Mustard is the host of XRAY.fm's Wednesday Afternoon show The Path is the Destination from 4-6 pm. An ever rotating, genre-fluid show - The Path is constantly in the process of becoming. Enthusiastic about at home coffee preparation, being a dog dad, and a voracious reader, Dijon is just as happy losing his voice at Mississippi Studios as he is curled up in a chair at home on a Friday night.
What inspired this November Music mix?
Fall in the Pacific Northwest is one of the best seasons we get. But by the time November rolls around that colorful display vanishes overnight to reveal nature’s bare bones. A month of dipping temperatures, day-light savings, and the onset of seasonal affective disorder, this is the time where friendships are vetted for a good Netflix and chill partner, in a tumultuous month of change leading up to Thanksgiving.
For some this is a time to be spent reconnecting with family, while for just as many others, a reminder of painful memories, dysfunctional families, and having to return to a place you no longer call home. But whether it’s Thanksgiving or Friendsgiving that you celebrate, this is a time of year that both the weather and traditions bring us closer together.
My selection for November has been inspired by trends of years past. Oscillating between singer songwriters who articulate our innate human loneliness, and in-your-face bouts of energy in an attempt to defrost my frozen heart, tip the scales, and jumpstart me back into waking life. With a musical catalog that is constantly expanding, I am happy to include a number of new tracks that were released in the past two months.
From Nicolas Jaar the politically topical track 'History Lesson', to Moses Sumney’s eerily beautiful 'Lonely World', Portland’s own digital crooner Schaus drops a sweet rumination on the friendship we so dearly need in 'Friends', and GOAT returned to kick your teeth in 'All-Seeing Eye'.
Hamilton Leithauser (of the Walkmen) and Rostam Batmanglij (of Vampire Weekend) released an album sounding as if it was unearthed from a 1950’s time capsule (Sick as a Dog), while Kevin Morby’s new single preaches love and understanding in a time which offers little of either in 'Beautiful Strangers'.
Thee Oh Sees are back! with another album of whiplash enducing rock n’ roll (Jammed Entrance), and Preoccupations dropped an album dripping with fall malaise and anxiety (Memory). Nashville’s Lambchop hit the studio inspired by the work of Kendrick Lamar and Shabazz Palaces, and reemerged with a beautiful album of autotune indulgence (JFK). Lastly, from Aldous Harding is live performance of an unreleased track, What if Birds Aren’t Singing, They’re Screaming?, to round out the emotional instability of November.
But being a creature of comfort I have also included tracks by some of my favorite fall artists who have helped me through the season year after year: Bright Eyes, Yo La Tengo, Atlas Sound, Elliott Smith & The Microphonoes). After all some looks never go out of style.
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Cover Art by Gage Hamilton / Forest for the Trees / @gage_gage_gage / @sodotrack
Combining futurist sci-fi narratives with classic American iconography, Gage Hamilton’s work offers a cryptic glimpse into imaginary worlds. A Portland native, he is the founder of Forest For The Trees and a well-respected local advocate for the creative arts in the Pacific Northwest.
Forest For The Trees is a non-profit project dedicated to the creation of contemporary public art in Portland. The festival brings together local and international artists in a collaborative setting and provides them with the freedom and resources to create artworks in environments that are freely accessible to the local community. Check out his latest project, The Sodo Track.
<Click to stream past Beats & Burn playlists.